Fear Inc.

Wired reports on the biggest market opportunity since the dot.com boom:

Welcome to the homeland security industrial complex, a world where doomsday scenarios double as marketing pitches, patriotism mingles with capitalism, and the spoils go to whoever can placate a skittish society. "The best thing that will happen is that we will never have a nuclear event in the United States, never have a sarin gas event," Weiss [Fortress America CEO] says. "But do you know how much money is going to be spent" preparing for such events? "It's only a matter of time before someone finds something bad in a container coming through the port of Baltimore, Charleston, or Long Beach."

Meanwhile, a manufacturer of bulletproof vests just spent $10 million on his daughter's bat mitzvah, also known as 'Mitzvahpalooza,' complete with performances by Tom Petty, Aerosmith, 50 Cent, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Ciara, and Kenny G.

See also Wired's Profits of Doom.

And, War is a Racket by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC.